Corporate cruises...any way to tell?

[BopRN]

Is there any way to tell if your cruise is also a corporate cruise with hundreds of employees from any one company? Has anyone experienced being on a cruise and suddenly finding out there are 1000 Mary Kay Consultants (just an example...love their products!) ? Did it ruin your cruise having much of the ship dedicated to catering to those employees?

[Cruisin' Chick]

One cruise we were on hosted lots of medical technicians (like EKG, or something. can't remember what exactly). A few times we talked to a couple of them and found them interesting. Didn't bother us.

 

On the other hand, on one Carnival cruise there was about 2000 passengers aboard taking part in a bingo tournament. Many of them seemed to be always drinking, smoking, eating, gambling. We hope to never run across that kind of situation again.

 

IMO, when a large group like that is aboard, other passengers should be informed so they can rethink their booking.

[DesrtDrmr]

We have been on two cruises which had large groups on. In both cases, some of the lounges were not available during the day because groups were having meetings or prayer sessions. One of the groups was from a religious radio station, and one was a commercial award group. The people themselves were all very nice, and happy to be on a cruise.........it was just a matter of where they would meet, which denied access to the rest of the passengers for the entire cruise.

[DesrtDrmr]

We have been on two cruises which had large groups on. In both cases, some of the lounges were not available during the day because groups were having meetings or prayer sessions. One of the groups was from a religious radio station, and one was a commercial award group. The people themselves were all very nice, and happy to be on a cruise.........it was just a matter of where they would meet, which denied access to the rest of the passengers for the entire cruise.

I agree with CruisinChick..........we would like to have been informed ahead of time. I wonder if we could have called Princess and ASKED????? Probably so...........

[kryos]

I agree with CruisinChick..........we would like to have been informed ahead of time. I wonder if we could have called Princess and ASKED????? Probably so...........

No. The cruise line won't release that information. There's been a lot of discussion about this on the HAL board as well, and the fact that there really is no guaranteed way to find out this information. What some of the folks over there have started doing is searching the net for group cruises ... like the ones sponsored by gay travel organizations, Christian travel agencies, radio stations, etc., and then posting that information to a thread. But, checking websites isn't gonna tell you if a sailing contains a large corporate group since these are not group cruises available for booking by the public. Often corporate cruises are "incentive" type things ... freebies for high producing salespeople and the like.

 

I think that anytime a cruise is gonna be sailing with over 50% of the passengers being part of a group that the cruiseline should be obligated to inform other passengers of that fact, if they ask. There's nothing wrong with groups on a sailing as long as they don't become the predominant force of the cruise. If a sailing is booked at, say, 75% comprised of members of a specific club or organization sailing together, then obviously the ENTIRE cruise is gonna be geared toward them and other passengers will find themselves being related to second class status. The group will get priority for dinner seatings, for disembarkation, for specific shore excursions ... you name it. They will also take over areas of the ship for their private functions and the staff is not gonna be that concerned about the possibly small number of other passengers who lose the use of the pool on a hot afternoon at sea, or can't get reservations in the specialty restaurants for the duration of the cruise.

 

I guess the only way to change this policy of non-disclosure of group status by the cruiselines would be to lobby through travel agent circles to have this changed. However, I doubt even that strategy would be successful since groups are big bucks ... both to the cruise lines and the travel agents.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

We have been on two cruises which had large groups on. In both cases, some of the lounges were not available during the day because groups were having meetings or prayer sessions. One of the groups was from a religious radio station, and one was a commercial award group. The people themselves were all very nice, and happy to be on a cruise.........it was just a matter of where they would meet, which denied access to the rest of the passengers for the entire cruise.

I wonder ... since many of the Christian organizations bring their own musicians to provide Christian entertainment for their group ... if the Christian group had, say, 80% of the ship booked with their people ... if basically all of the entertainment onboard would be Christian and the other 20% of the passengers would be served up praise music for their evening show instead of the normal shipboard offerings?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[DeltaOne]

On the other hand' date=' on one Carnival cruise there was about 2000 passengers aboard taking part in a bingo tournament. Many of them seemed to be always drinking, smoking, eating, gambling. We hope to never run across that kind of situation again.[/quote']

If you're hoping to avoid drinking, eating and gambling then you don't belong on a cruise ship! ;-)

[cynbar]

We took a cruise a couple years back that had a large corporate group on it (actually, I think it WAS Mary Kay!), and I found it really disruptive. As stated above, lounges were often closed for various corporate functions, and the best seatings and places in the DRs were reserved for them, leaving the rest of us out in the cold. I absolutely agree that this isn't fair to the rest of the passengers, and that there whould be some way to find out this info.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Our one and only NCL cruise was about 75% filled with employees from an insurance company. It definitely had a negative impact on our cruise...first of all, there was a lot of signage everywhere on the ship, and most conversations people were having were centered around work and business. Also, it was like being on a cruise ship with a bunch of people who thought they had gone to Las Vegas for a hard partying time...the most rude, obnoxious behavior I've ever witnessed on a cruise ship.

 

It was WAY too much like going to a business convention for us too, and we really didn't like it at all. For that, plus a couple of other reasons, we've never returned to NCL.

[Golfette]

Oh boy, now I'm really worried. I've been posting roll calls for Sapphire 10/15 sailing with absolutely no response. I know the cruise is sold out & I bet it is a corporate-type group. We had experience with that at a resort once & it was BAD. Is there anything at all we can do to find out???

[kryos]

If you're hoping to avoid drinking, eating and gambling then you don't belong on a cruise ship! ;-)

There's one Christian travel agent that runs charter cruises for their customers. On these cruises, all the bars are closed, as well as the casino ... which they turn into a Christian bookstore for the duration of the cruise.

 

They wouldn't be allowed to do this, however, if the cruise was also open to the general public.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Cruisin' Chick]

"If you're hoping to avoid drinking, eating and gambling then you don't belong on a cruise ship! ;-)"

 

If you were on this particular cruise, you would have seen the extreme behavior -- these people were incredible (my hubby could attest to this). There were even some passengers who had booked this cruise for the bingo tourney and they were embarrassed to be associated with them.

[Pam in CA]

Oh boy, now I'm really worried. I've been posting roll calls for Sapphire 10/15 sailing with absolutely no response. I know the cruise is sold out & I bet it is a corporate-type group. We had experience with that at a resort once & it was BAD. Is there anything at all we can do to find out???

Most Princess cruises are sold out without the need to sell to a corporate-type group. My Sea Princess cruise next June is almost totally sold out with only a few inside and a couple of suites left, and that's 9 months away. Most holiday cruises I've taken have sold out a year in advance.

 

Just because the cruise is sold out doesn't mean that there's a large group booked. A sold-out cruise is more normal than one that isn't. It's actually a bit unusual for a corporate group to book on Princess.

 

Also, the activity of your roll call isn't an indication either. Our Sapphire Princess cruise over Christmas is sold out yet there are only a very few of us on the roll call. Some cruises just don't have people active on CC.

 

Relax... I bet there isn't a corporate group on your cruise. :)

[alolewis]

I asked my TA to check with another cruise line (NCL) and they did tell here what groups have booked that cruise, I certainly would ask my TA to check as they may get an answer from the Cruise Line that you as an individual may not.

[MaryPoppinz]

Has anyone experienced being on a cruise and suddenly finding out there are 1000 Mary Kay Consultants (just an example...love their products!)

 

No, but when our son was hospitalized in Dallas during the Mary Kay convention one summer, I stayed in the hotel with a huuuuuge contingent of consultants. It was an interesting experience, and my overall impression was that it brought out quite a lot of what I would describe as relatively harmless immaturity. Excessive giggling, travelling in packs, that sort of thing. Nothing that would be a vacation deal-breaker.

[kevinsac]

There ought to be some comminication about large groups.....especially if there are two groups. I was at a hotel in Chicago a few years, and there was a large Black Southern Baptist convention and some type of gay and lesbian convention being held at the same time. I'm sure some feathers were ruffled during that weekend!

[cherylandtk]

Kevinsac, your comment just made me recall a similar event. It was about 20 years ago, and on the Queen Mary (so does that sorta make it qualify as a cruise ship??) Anyway, it was the Marine Corps Birthday Ball--dress uniforms, gloves, swords, ballgowns, etc.--held next door to the Tattoo and Body Art convention--nearly naked bodies displaying enormous quantities of ink. After the first wide-eyed encounters (from both sides) in the lobby, everyone eventually began to mingle. I sure wish I had a camera!

[geoherb]

When we sailed on the Star Princess to Alaska, there was a large group (300 perhaps) of Cookie Lee saleswomen and their DHs on the ship. We probably wouldn't have noticed if one of their flights hadn't been late. The captain held up departure for their buses from the airport to arrive.

 

A smaller group of Italian pharmacists were also on the ship. I wouldn't have noticed them except for a few announcements in Italian. Plus we walked along their corridor one afternoon and saw the Patters printed in Italian. They had a few meetings in some of the smaller rooms.

 

A friend of mine gets the brochures for Jubilee cruises--where Southern gospel groups are the featured entertainers. Like some of the larger gay groups, they charter the whole ship and really do take over.

[Sunshine36616]

There's one Christian travel agent that runs charter cruises for their customers. On these cruises, all the bars are closed, as well as the casino ... which they turn into a Christian bookstore for the duration of the cruise.

 

They wouldn't be allowed to do this, however, if the cruise was also open to the general public.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Good thing those aren't open to the general public. I think I'd jump over board, lol

[kryos]

Good thing those aren't open to the general public. I think I'd jump over board, lol

LOL ... don't worry. They would never be allowed to change the basic "complexion" of the cruise if it weren't a charter. Dress codes must stay the same and all normal entertainment venues (casino, bars, shows, etc.) must be available for the sailing public. Of course, they could have some of their own entertainment, put on in a seaprate lounge and only open to their people.

 

I guess some of the people who like the Christian cruises don't want to be associated with drinking and smoking and gambling and perhaps that's why the agent just charters the ship knowing that way he can fill it. They also kick all the regular ship's entertainers off and bring aboard their own musicians and comedienes. Guess they don't want to chance any "off color" jokes. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Sunshine36616]

LOL ... don't worry. They would never be allowed to change the basic "complexion" of the cruise if it weren't a charter. Dress codes must stay the same and all normal entertainment venues (casino, bars, shows, etc.) must be available for the sailing public. Of course, they could have some of their own entertainment, put on in a seaprate lounge and only open to their people.

 

I guess some of the people who like the Christian cruises don't want to be associated with drinking and smoking and gambling and perhaps that's why the agent just charters the ship knowing that way he can fill it. They also kick all the regular ship's entertainers off and bring aboard their own musicians and comedienes. Guess they don't want to chance any "off color" jokes. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

I am sure those that want to attend a cruise like that would enjoy it. I think specialized cruises are a good idea as long as everyone knows what kind of cruise it is.

[spiritkat090909]

I really miss the old Country Music Theme cruises that NCL (& RCCL once) used to do. NCL would note that specific dates were themed (they also did Jazz, Baseball, & other stuff) in their normal brochures & most of the agents would remind the TA at the time of booking. They were great, IMO. Nowadays the only way to get a theme cruise is to go with an outside group & pay an outrageous rate compared to direct or online booking. I just won't pay $1500pp for an inside room.